First Date Follies
by Lanie L Sullivan
Summary: #1 in the Francine/Beaman series. Francine finally accepts a date from Beaman. This is an account of their first date. Set just after "Suitable For Framing."
1. Surprise Guests

Francine sat fidgeting nervously in her car as she checked her reflection in the rearview mirror for the millionth time since arriving at the touristy resort for what could be the best first date of her life...or the worst. "Why did I ever agree to this?' she muttered. She knew why. Beaman had been after her for four years now, ever since he'd first begun at the agency. She'd never taken him seriously because he'd only ever approached after he'd tied one on, but this time...this time he had shocked her to her core by making a blatant pass at her while stone cold sober when he'd let her into the Q Bureau after losing her keys. She recalled with some amusement how she'd called him out on it and had watched his demeanor change from one of faux cockiness to one of pure fear when she'd approached him with a taunt about "fogging up the windows."

She'd thought that was the end of it until he'd approached her after clearing her name and he had genuinely asked her out on a date. This time there was no talk of running off to Greece or Fiji or Jamaica, just dinner and dancing. She'd been so utterly thrown that she'd agreed before she'd even realized what was happening. Now, she was wondering what the hell she was thinking. She let out a deep sigh as she scanned the parking lot for his car, spotted it three spaces away, and saw that he wasn't in it, indicating that he must be waiting for her inside. She recalled how she'd tried to backpedal seconds after saying yes, and then seeing the disappointed look on his face, had relented, but only with the understanding that she be allowed to pick the place and that they take separate cars. Having her own car there was her security blanket.

As she got out of her car and approached the lavishly decorated building, she thought again of how perfect this place was. It was right on the beach and one of those places that locals to the area never frequented, but yet it was always busy, full of tourists who didn't mind paying the exorbitantly jacked-up drink prices. She had to admit that it was a beautiful spot, but not a place she would ever go just because it was your typical tourist trap. She also knew that no one else she knew would ever set foot in the place either for the same reason. That's why she had chosen it; it was far away from city limits. If their first date turned out to be disastrous, no one else needed to know that it had ever taken place and she, being a long-time, highly-trained intelligence operative, knew how to keep a secret and she knew that Beaman would never risk incurring her wrath by spilling the details of their encounter either.

She paused with her hand on the door handle, not sure that she was ready for this as she reflected back on what had led to this. She wondered if it was because she'd nearly been tossed out of the agency that had caused Beaman to finally man up and ask her out properly. She thought of how close she and Lee had come to losing their careers and the partially overheard conversation Lee had had with Amanda in his apartment and his talk of a "normal" life. She had teased him about not letting him be normal, but afterward had been left with a feeling that contrary to his outward, devil-may-care attitude, the normal life just might be appealing to him.

She'd often wondered if he and Amanda were still seeing each other on the sly, but keeping it hidden just to keep her out of it after the debacle in January when she'd caught them in a clinch for the umpteenth time. If so, they didn't outwardly show it, but she recalled how she'd been walking behind him and Billy in the corridors of the agency and had watched her friend try to weasel out of going to New York, pleading that he had plans. Between that and the phone call to Amanda, she couldn't help being curious if his weekend plans had been with his partner. She hoped not, just for Amanda's sake, because while Lee may be tiring of the wild life he'd been living and looking for something different, she was concerned that it may be, like many things in Lee's life, only a passing fancy. She had grown too fond of her to want to see her get hurt, not that she'd ever admit that to Amanda.

Taking one more deep breath to steel herself for what may come, she stepped into the lobby of the lavish resort. She scanned the crowd and found him off to the left near the entrance to the hotel's nightclub. She paused and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face when she saw his shy smile at her arrival...and could it be a bit of relief too that she'd actually showed? Belying the nervousness that she felt, she strode purposefully across the lobby and was delighted when he met her halfway.

"Hi," Beaman greeted her as he tentatively took her hand in his and searched her eyes as if gauging her reaction. Taking a deep breath and with much more confidence than he felt, he said, "You look beautiful. Is that a new dress?"

It was, but she wasn't sure she should let him know just how many hours she'd spent scouring the racks at store after store looking for the perfect dress for their first date. Instead, she fired back with the old standby, "What? This old thing?" and smiled brightly at him. _Damn,_ she thought as she saw the knowing look he gave her in response. She knew she'd blown it with that one and that he now knew that she was more excited about their date than she let on. She should have known better than to give herself away like that. She felt the butterflies...no, not butterflies...more like bats whirling around in the pit of her stomach. "So...um...are you hungry? I...uh...I mean, we talked about dinner..." she stammered anxiously.

"I...uh...are you? Hungry, I mean?" He squeezed her hand gently and was elated that she squeezed his back and didn't back away. "I mean, I'm...I'm cool with whatever. I-I-I just..."

They were both silent for a moment, their hands still tenuously linked together. As the opening strains of "Nothing's Gonna Stop us Now," filtered into the room from the club's glass doors, she said, "You know, that's a great song," gesturing toward the double doors that led into the club, "One of my favorites." She cringed slightly at admitting that she liked a romantic duet, but relaxed a little at seeing him smile, not a teasing smile that she was sure to see on the face of anyone else at the agency, but a warm, glowing smile with just a hint of flirtatiousness.

Taking her cue, Beaman suggested more assertively, "Then maybe we should dance to it. Can't let your favorite song go to waste, now can we?"

"No, we sure can't," she answered as she linked her fingers with his and they entered the nightclub together. Once inside, she allowed her date to lead her onto the crowded dance floor, paying no mind to the other couples.

Once in his arms and gently swaying to the music, she caught the faint sound of him softly singing along, "Looking in your eyes, I see a paradise, this world that I found is too good to be true." She couldn't help smiling at the words and the sincere look on his face as he held her closely, but when he caught her gaze just as it got to the part about love, he stopped abruptly under her scrutiny, blushed furiously and looked away.

"Don't stop," Francine said gently as she slid one hand to his cheek to get him to face her again. Seeing the intense emotion etched on his face, she blurted out, "It was nice." She looked down, now blushing herself.

"Yeah?" he questioned hopefully, as he hooked one finger under her chin so he could look at her again.

She nodded and replied with a smile, "Yeah." She linked her arms behind his neck and began singing along herself, "Let 'em say we're crazy. I don't care about that. Put your hand in my-" Just as he'd wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer, she halted suddenly and said, "I'll be damned!"

Efraim pulled back from her, released his hold on her and in an agitated tone stammered, "Wh-wh-what is it? Did I..." He looked down in embarrassment as his voice trailed off.

She grabbed him firmly and turned him to the spectacle that had caught her eye. "It's not you. Look!"

Beaman looked in the direction she was pointing, spotted Lee and Amanda dancing a short distance away, dancing very closely at that, obviously lost in one another and shrugged. "So much for not running into anyone we know," he said with a touch of melancholy in his voice.

"What does THAT mean," Francine questioned him with her hands on her hips and a look of disdain.

"Oh, come on, Francine," he parried. "Don't think I don't know that the reason you picked this place is because you know that nobody we know comes here and you didn't want to be seen in public with me."

"That's not true!" she argued. "I...um...I just..." _Damn, busted,_ she thought. _Think, Desmond, think._ "I just...um...I wanted us to have some privacy on our first date, someplace where no one would find us." She then tried to turn attention away from herself with a nod of her head toward the other couple, "What I wanna' know is, what are THEY doing here...and together?"

"Maybe they came here for the same reason...to have some privacy," Beaman surmised logically.

"Maybe..." she responded, but she found that thought immensely disturbing. She stared open-mouthed at the pair; how they were so close that you couldn't have slid a credit card between them.

"It makes sense. I mean, everyone at the office knows they've been sneaking around for months," Efraim added. "It's not as if they're hiding it very we-" his words were cut off by Francine yanking him behind a large square support pillar pressing him against it. "Francine..." he began, his heart pounding at her nearness. "Isn't this a little sud-" He was silenced by her hand over his mouth.

"Shh," she hissed. "They're coming toward us."

"I knew it," he whispered back accusingly. "I knew you didn't want anyone to see us together."

"Would you just shut up? It's not about that! I wanna' hear what they're say-" She quieted as she heard them getting closer and started a bit when there was a thump against the other side of the pillar. Francine cringed as they heard the smacking sounds of kissing. She cautiously peered around the pillar and instantly wished she hadn't when she saw the pair locked in a passionate kiss.

She quickly ducked back to her hiding place and Efraim looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. "I don't think you're going to hear much in the way of conversation," he whispered.

Francine rolled her eyes at him and strained to hear what was happening on the other side of the post as the kissing sounds had stopped. She could just make out Amanda's familiar raspy voice, but not the words she was saying, but then very clearly heard Lee say in his low, seductive growl, "My goodness, Mrs. Stetson, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

She and Efraim looked at one another in confusion and both mouthed, "Mrs. Stetson?"

They both listened intently as Amanda responded flirtatiously, "Well, you know it's you I prefer kissing," followed by more smacking sounds.

A moment later, an out-of-breath Lee said, "I...uh...I thought you wanted to dance."

"Oh, I did," Amanda's seductive tone continued, "I just didn't specify what kind of dancing I had in mind." Francine's mouth dropped open at Amanda's statement, stunned by the housewife's boldness.

"I see," Lee answered mirthfully, "Then I suggest we take our "dance" upstairs."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Amanda's voice sounded in a tone that set Francine's teeth on edge. Was _she_ actually trying to seduce Lee and not the other way around?

As they heard the other couples' footsteps moving away, Francine and Efraim poked their heads around the corner of the pillar just in time to see the groping couple heading toward the glass doors. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, Francine asked, "Okay, so...this Mrs. Stetson thing. What do you think?" Efraim simply shrugged. "Hmm...Are they on some kind of undercover assignment that I don't know about? You would think Billy would have learned by now to keep me in the loop."

Beaman shook his head and stated firmly, "No, because I would know about it too. I'm her trainer and I'm supposed to be informed about all of her assignments."

They walked toward the doors, both glowering after the departing couple, "Well, if they are undercover, that means that Amanda's gotten much more comfortable with playing THAT kind of cover," Francine continued staring after them worriedly wondering if Lee was up to his old tricks, but then she thought about what she'd heard Amanda say and shook her head.

"I don't know," Beaman replied skeptically as he watched the other pair groping each other as they walked through the doors to the lobby. "She's good, but she's not THAT good."

"I think we should find out, don't you?" Without waiting for a response, she darted toward the doors that Lee and Amanda had just exited through.

"Francine, wait!' Beaman called as he hurried to follow her, catching up with her at the elevator, just in time to see a passionately embracing Lee and Amanda entering it and Francine standing there behind a large potted plant with a look of astonishment on her face. As the elevator doors closed on the oblivious couple and Amanda was wrapping her arms behind Lee's neck, he spotted a glint of gold and the sparkle of a diamond just before the doors closed completely.

"What the hell is going on?" Francine hissed.

"I don't know, but did you catch the rock that Amanda's wearing? That's not agency issue."

"How do you know that?" Francine challenged him.

"Have you forgotten that I used to set up covers when I worked in Fabrications?"

"But I've been on cover assignments where expensive jewelry was part of the cover," she argued.

"I get that, but that's not what I mean," he explained. "Even when the more expensive pieces are used, they're not that shiny because they've been used multiple times. The wedding set she's wearing looks brand-new."

"Maybe The Agency updated its collection," she suggested, trying to find any explanation other than what she was really thinking.

"Not likely with the budget cutbacks we've been having lately," Beaman countered.

"Well, I, for one am going to get to the bottom of this here and now," Francine stated firmly.

"But what about our...," Francine took off toward the front desk, "...date?" He let out a deep sigh and realized that he had no choice but to follow her.

Beaman reached her just as she was whipping out her badge and berating the desk clerk. "I don't care what your privacy policy is," she snapped. "Do you see this?" She waved the badge in the man's face. "This is a federal ID and those two are the subject of an investigation." Of course, she wasn't going to tell the clerk that it was a personal investigation. On a need-to-know basis, he didn't need to know.

"Y-yes, Ma'am," the clerk stammered as he began typing. "They're...uh...in room 203...registered as...uh...Mr. and Mrs. Stetson."

Beaman chuckled softly as he saw Francine's jaw drop, "So, much for your theory of them being undercover. Stetson's too smart to use his own name on a cover assignment."

"That's what I was afraid of," Francine sighed. _Damn you, Lee Stetson_ , she thought.

"What are you thinking?" Beaman inquired of her curiously.

"What I'm thinking is that snake in the grass used his considerable charms to worm his way back into Amanda's life after she dumped him. Damn! I thought she was smarter than that."

Beaman laughed at her. "Don't tell me you actually bought that break-up story of theirs?" He snorted incredulously.

"Story?" she questioned.

"Oh, yeah," Beaman replied with a smug grin. "Come on, Francine, think about it. I told you she's good and you fell for it, hook, line and sinker."

"You know, insulting your date's intelligence is not really a great way to win points," she responded coolly. "Or get you to a second date." She then put her badge away and strode purposefully toward the elevator.

 _Second date?_ He thought hopefully, but then realized she was off again. "Wait," Beaman called as he chased after her, grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to stop Amanda from making the biggest mistake of her life before it's too late," she declared as she jabbed the up button.


	2. Hostile Hotel

Just as they reach the second floor, Beaman yanked hard on Francine's hand and pulled her into the vending room.

"What the hell are you doing," she snapped as she attempted to wrench her hand out of his grasp.

He kept a firm grip on her hand and with the other, gestured to the corridor and pointed out Lee walking down it with an ice bucket in hand. "You don't want him to see us, do you?" he reminded her in a harsh whisper.

"Right," she nodded. "Crap! He's coming in here." She looked around quickly, gauging their surroundings and without another thought, shoved her date into the small space between two of the vending machines and squeezed into it with him.

Francine tried to get a grip on her rapidly beating heart, taking in a long, deep breath and releasing it slowly. Being wedged into this tight space with Beaman, a man she knew was crazy about her, was starting to get to her more than she liked, definitely more than she cared to admit out loud. She peeked out and saw Lee with his back to them approaching the ice machine. She gestured with her head to the door. Luckily for them, the ice machine was on the opposite wall of the room and they were able to slip past Lee and out of the room unnoticed.

Francine gripped Beaman's hand again and practically dragged him down the hall with her toward room 203, knocking loudly on the door with Beaman apprehensively asking, "Are you sure we should be doing this?"

Before Francine could answer, Amanda opened the door with a sexy nightie in hand and a breezy, "Did you forget your key,' Sweethea-" She broke off when she saw Francine and hastily tried to hide the negligee she'd been holding.

Francine gaped at her for a moment, but then with a shake of her head once the shock wore off, stated baldly, "Oh, God, it's worse than I thought."

Amanda stammered nervously, "F-Francine, Wh-what are you doing here?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "The real question is, what are YOU doing here?" She snatched the lingerie out of Amanda's hands. "And with this...and with...with...Lee?"

Amanda found her voice again, once her surprise at seeing them at the door had worn off, snatched it back and replied coolly, "What I'm going here is none of your business..." She warily eyed Efraim, "...either of you. What are you two doing here...and together?"

This time it was Francine's turn to stammer nervously, "We...I...uh...that is...we..."

"Were just going..." Beaman interjected and grabbed Francine by the arm to drag her away and they heard the door close just as Lee sauntered back down the hall. "So, you just can't bear to admit that you're here on a date with me, can you?" he hissed.

"She threw me off-guard, okay? It wasn't that I was trying to deny that we were on a date," she argued.

"You're here on a date," Lee questioned, a look of amusement on his face as he held the newly-filled ice bucket in both hands. That was when the pair spotted for the first time that he was also wearing a wedding ring.

Francine narrowed her eyes at Lee. "What's that about? Honeymooning? "cause last I knew, you weren't married."

"Uh...No...undercover. Need to know." Lee attempted to walk past them.

"Undercover?" Beaman questioned, trying to catch They Agency's resident Romeo in a lie since they'd already seen the other couple all over each other. He folded his arms across his chest and added testily, "You know that as Amanda's trainer, I'm supposed to be informed of _all_ her undercover work." He grinned at him knowingly.

Lee sputtered nervously, "W-well, you know, this one...uh...just came up. Eyes only. Very hush-hush."

While Francine tapped her foot impatiently, Beaman glowered at Lee. "Explain to me just why it would be assigned to you when the two of you are off the duty roster for the whole weekend? I DO know what her schedule is, remember?"

Francine chimed in with, "And you know, come to think of it, I see all the duty rosters too, being Billy's assistant and it's awfully coincidental that you and Amanda seem to have so many weekends scheduled off together these days."

"Well, we ARE partners," Lee pointed out with a shrug as he regained his composure. "It only makes sense that we work the same days."

Francine gave him a skeptical look and replied disbelievingly, "Partners...right. Just what kind of partners are you?"

Lee began getting defensive and snapped, "What is this, an interrogation?"

"Maybe it should be. After all, Amanda lied to everyone at the office when she said she was taking the boys camping this weekend and you know, I'm really surprised that the mother-of the-year would blow off her precious boys for a sordid tryst with you in some seedy hotel."

Lee, clearly pissed now, finally unloaded, "Okay, first of all, she didn't blow off the boys. They're with her ex this weekend. He's the one taking them camping and she never said that _she_ was taking them camping, just that they had a camping trip this weekend."

Francine's mouth dropped open while Beaman whispered to her, "I told you she was good."

"Second," Lee continued. "Look around you...this place is hardly seedy..."

"Okay, good point, but still, what's with the pretense of being married and registering as Mr. and Mrs. Stetson? Was that the only way you could get her here, by presenting some semblance of decorum?"

"Why would I need to do that when she's just now recovered enough from her shooting to resume her _normal_..." He flashed her a salacious grin, "activities." He started to walk away again, but, then turned back for just a moment, held up his left hand, and added, "And who says this is a pretense?" He swaggered back down the hall and slammed the door behind him.

Francine and Beaman stared at each other, dumbfounded for a moment before Francine started back down the hall toward the Stetsons' room and got there right as Lee opened the door just enough to put out the "do not disturb" sign. He grinned once more and stated pointedly, "Good-night, Francine."

The ruckus in the hall with Lee had disturbed the parties in the next room and Beaman's eyes widened as he recognized one of the occupants who had just opened the door. "R-R-Roxanne," he babbled, startled by her presence there.

At seeing Francine, holding tightly to Beaman's hand, the other woman screeched as she stepped out into the hall, "I knew it! I knew you were just using me when all this time you wanted HER!"

In response to the shrill, accusing tone in the vixen's voice, Francine responded cattily, "Oh? As if we don't ALL know what you were using him for."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Francine sniped, "Oh, come on! Everyone knows that your test scores at Station One were just _barely_ good enough to get you into The Agency. That's why they stuck you in accounting and ever since then, you've been doing anything...and _anyone_...you can to move up the ladder."

"HEY!" Beaman released Francine's hand abruptly and gave her a bewildered and hurt look. "So... What? You think she couldn't actually have _liked_ me?"

"Efraim, be honest, would you have even given her the time of day if she weren't trying to be my twin?" Beaman let out a sigh, having to admit that she was right, not that he'd give her the satisfaction of knowing that.

She turned to Roxanne with a nod at her hair. "And don't think I don't know that that hair is a bottle job."

"What? No, it's not! I'll have you know that I'm a natural blonde."

"Puh-lease," she scoffed with a gesture to the other woman's scalp. "Next time, try covering up your roots too, Sweetie."

"Whatever," Roxanne snorted and slunk back into her room.

Francine sighed, shook her head and grumbled, "Great, just what a first date needs, running into your ex-lover." She made her way back down the hall to the elevator and jabbed at the button to take her back downstairs.

As he followed behind her, Beaman countered hotly, "Look who's talking!"

"What?" Francine snapped as she whipped around to face him.

"Weren't you were the one who wanted to interrupt our date to chase Stetson around?"

"What are you talking about? I was just trying to look out for Amanda. I would think that being her trainer, that's something that you would appreciate!"

"Yeah, right," Beaman answered skeptically. "And it couldn't have _anything_ to do with the fact that you and Stetson were once involved. Don't think I don't know about that!"

"Look, that's ancient history!"

"Well, history has a way of repeating itself," he fired back.

"Never! Not in a million years!" Upon seeing that he was still unconvinced, she softened a bit. "Look, I'm here with you tonight, aren't I?"

"Not so you'd notice," he retorted and forced himself to look away from her piercing blue eyes.

Francine reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his again. "Okay, I admit it. I got a little crazy when I saw Lee and Amanda together, but that's only because I know his reputation and I don't want to see Amanda get hurt. I'm all done with that now. She's made her choice and I can't do anything about it. I accept that, so why don't we just get on with our date." She gave him a warm smile. "You know, you did say you wanted to buy me dinner and with all this running around, I've worked up quite an appetite. Whaddya' say?"

He looked at her again and when he saw the sincere look in her eyes, answered, "I'm in." He smiled back. "I have to admit that I'm getting a bit hungry myself."

Once they finally got back downstairs, they were both disheartened to learn that the hotel's restaurant was now closed for the night. "Great! Now, what?" he questioned.

Francine grinned. "Now, we just have to get creative."


	3. Last Resort

Beaman's eyes lit up at the tone in her voice on the word 'creative.' "Hmmm...Creative, you said. Soooo...what did you have in mind?"

"Well, the way I figure it, we've got two choices, go back to the club and spend the rest of the night munching on peanuts and pretzels or..."

"Or...?"

"Or we get out of here and head down to the twenty-four-hour burger place down the road. I passed it on my way here. I know it's not the most romantic of places for a first date or the most ideal, but-"

"Let's go!" he replied eagerly, happy to learn that if she was willing to go to a burger place, she couldn't be as high-maintenance as he'd always assumed she was.

"Great! I'm starving!" She grabbed his hand and led him to the exit and in a teasing tone, asked, "So, my car or yours?"

"You mean, we actually get to ride in the same car now," he joked back.

"Okay, it was stupid of me to insist on that," she reluctantly admitted. "I want to make up for that, so how about I let you drive?" He smiled affectionately at her and nodded. "Hey, I have another suggestion," she added as they made their way to his car.

"Shoot," he replied as he opened the car door for her.

She gestured to the vast expanse of nearly-deserted beachfront before them. "What do you think about getting our order to go? Then we can come back here and have a picnic on the beach?"

"Well, there is a big, bright, full moon out. It'd be a shame to let it go to waste...unless you're Michael Landon, of course." He grinned at her as he closed her door and walked around to the other side.

"Or Michael J Fox," she countered as he got into his side of the car.

He couldn't help laughing and breathed a sigh of relief that she'd gotten the joke instead of staring at him blankly as some of his dates in the past had. "Yeah, what is it with actors named Michael playing werewolves?"

When they get to the burger place, they stood perusing the menu for a moment in silence until Francine piped up with, "I think I'm gonna get the grilled chicken salad."

He looked at her incredulously. "I thought you said you were starving. If that's the case, a salad won't cut it." When she only fidgeted nervously in response, he went on with a roll of his eyes, "Don't tell me that as long as we've known each other, you're going to pull that 'first date' crap and try to pretend that you eat like a bird. I've seen you at the office parties and I _know_ how much food you can put away, especially Amanda's Christmas cookies. And don't think that I don't know that the bottom right drawer of your desk is full of chocolate kisses. How you do it and stay looking as good as you do is probably what makes all the other women around the office hate you."

"Those are strictly for emergencies," she replied with a laugh, but immediately changed her order to a quarter pound burger with large fries and a jumbo chocolate shake. A comfortable silence ensued and she pondered the fact that he knew her better than she thought he did, whereas she barely knew him at all. In that moment of him calling her out on the food thing, it struck her that if he'd taken the time to learn that much about her; that it might be worth her time to get to know him. She even appreciated the compliment he'd paid her.

On their drive back to the beach, he began feeling a bit unnerved by her long silence and the way that she was studying him so intently. He finally spoke up, trying to pick up their conversation from where they'd left it at the burger place, "I do have to admit that Amanda's Christmas cookies are always worth the extra pounds."

"How would you know? You're always too wasted to ever taste them," she teased lightly. "I never have seen such a lightweight when it comes to booze in my life."

"Or maybe that's just been an act to get your attention," he suggested boldly.

"What?" She blinked, startled at his confession.

Thankfully, they'd arrived at their destination and he was able to concentrate on pulling into a parking space. "You know, I've got a blanket in my trunk for our picnic," he changed the subject as he got out of the car hurriedly, wishing now that he hadn't been so open.

"Oh no you don't," she countered as she got out of her side of the car and snatched up their food bags. She slammed the door forcefully and glowered at him.

"Ahh...here it is," Beaman crowed as he held up the blanket and then took her hand with his free one. "Come on. Let's go."

"Over here. This spot looks good," she suggested as she pointed to a spot on the beach. As he spread out the blanket, she added, "But don't think you're getting off the hook that easily." She sat down and began to extract their dinner from the bags.

He let out a deep sigh as he took a sip of his soda. "Okay, I admit it. I've been faking the tipsy thing for years."

"Why?" She was really curious now. "What would make you think that I'd like you better that way?'

"I didn't." He took a deep breath and explained, "I have wanted to ask you out forever, but I never knew how to approach you. I mean, I'm me and you're... _you_."

"What does _that_ mean?"

"You know what it means, Francine. You have a reputation for being tougher than every guy in the building. A guy asks you out, you shut them down with nothing more than a glance or a perfect one-liner. You're smart, savvy, tough and beautiful. I'm just a nerd with a tendency to get lost in books."

"Hold on a second."

"What?"

"Is that what you really think of me? That I'm this perfect paragon?"

"Not perfect, no, but damn near."

"Wow." She frowned slightly. "After our talk when we were ordering our food, I thought you were different. I thought you were like Andrew McCarthy, you know, seeing beyond the mannequin." When he stared at her in wonder, she added, "How do you think I knew the song? I love that movie. It's like a symbol of my life. So many people see me only as this perfect doll...well, except Lee...he knows me too well...and you...or so I thought."

"I do. Why do you think that I did what I did? I thought the first time that I really wanted to ask you out that if _you_ thought I'd been drinking too much, and you blew me off, I could just pass it off as being wasted and no harm done...that maybe, you wouldn't be as dismissive of me as you had been other guys if you thought I couldn't help it because I was under the influence. I saw all those things that you try to hide, your weakness for chocolate, the way you use sarcasm to keep people at a distance for fear of getting your heart broken again, how you pretend to be so tough so people won't know how scared you are."

"Huh..." She chewed this information over in her mind as she chewed on her burger. "I...uh...I don't know what to say. I can't believe I bought it all these years." She looked at him questioningly. "So, what made you give up the pretense?"

"When you were so nice to me at the last Christmas party, even after I tried to cop a feel...Well, it gave me a bit of hope. You'd have beaten the crap out of any other guy who tried that."

She laughed and replied, "You're right. So...you were really never drunk all those times? Not even that time?"

"Not a one," he confirmed. He flushed slightly and confessed, "Okay, maybe I had one too many that night since I got that bold." He shook his head. "I still, to this day, can't believe I tried that AND that you were nice enough not to clock me for it."

"Well, Amanda was there as a buffer and she's a bit more forgiving than I am. Maybe she's rubbing off on me...just a bit."

"You know, that's another part of the reason for the pretense. You make all these jokes about Stetson and Amanda, the three of you playing verbal ping-pong all the time, but when the chips are down...when it really matters, you always watch each other's backs. That whole thing back at the hotel, all the reasons you gave for finding out what was going on was about not letting them screw up something good. You care about both of them even if you pretend not to and that kind of tight friendship is hard to break into and I feel like an outsider."

"Is that why you were so hard on Amanda at first?"

He nodded. "Partially. I was so jealous of her with everything she's accomplished when she's been with the agency the same length of time that I have and she's working with people like you and Stetson that are well-known to be the best in the business." He let out a nervous chuckle at baring his insecurities and quickly changed the subject, grinning broadly. "On the drinking thing though, I could probably drink you under the table."

"Maybe we'll test that theory next time. But for now, I'm just in love with this chocolate shake." She held up her cup with a glowing smile. "That place knows how to make them right."

"Next time?" he asked her hopefully.

"Well, they always say you shouldn't do something so great on a first date that you can't top it on a second one, so it's going to take something extreme to out-do this one."

"S-Second date?" he sputtered. His heart leapt in his chest while Francine just beamed at him and leaned in for a soft kiss.


End file.
